by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Something didn't feel right. And it had nothing to do with Ben Roethlisberger's throwing shoulder or dislocated rib.

On the day Roethlisberger returned from a three-game injury absence Sunday at Heinz Field, something bigger went missing -- like the Pittsburgh Steelers' sense of urgency.

"This was never a game,'' safety Ryan Clark said after the 34-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers. "We made it look good at the end before they took their foot off the pedal.

"We just didn't play hard. We didn't have a lot of energy behind us and it showed. We didn't execute, didn't play good football."

Roethlisberger blamed himself for an interception and fumble-turned-touchdown that offset his three-touchdown, 285-yard passing effort, much it accumulated after the game had been decided.

"It was frustrating," Roethlisberger said. "I feel okay. I have to make more plays and do more to help this team win."

Defensive end Brett Keisel tried warning his teammates beforehand that if they took the lowly 5-8 Chargers lightly, it would come back to bite them.

Sure enough, that's what happened in an ill-timed defeat when the Steelers could have gained ground because their AFC North-divisional rivals -- the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals -- lost.

"An unfortunate, poor performance by us, and by that I mean all of us," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We coached poorly today, we played poorly today.

"It's a shame given the opportunity that was in front of us. But it is what it is.

"Hopefully, we can make corrections and move forward because, regardless of what happens in other stadiums, if we play the way we played today, it does not matter."

It was if the 7-6 Steelers were buoyed by a false sense of security that with Roethlisberger back, they were primed to make a December run similar to 2005 when they won their last four regular season games before running the table as a sixth seed to win Super Bowl XL.

"I think we'll respond," Keisel said. "It's December ball. Good teams find a way to get these wins.

"When our backs are against the wall, it will be interesting to see which guys do the extra things this week."

The ugly loss was enough to make fans wonder, "Was this the same team that went into Baltimore and beat the Ravens with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch a week ago?"

They sure didn't look the same.

So the game ball ended up in the hands of embattled 5-8 Chargers coach Norv Turner instead of Roethlisberger's.

"I'm very proud of these guys," Spikes said. "A lot of people said we had nothing to play for. A lot of people crucified Norv. And he put his face on TV and said, 'Blame it all on me.'

"The reason we gave him the game ball is he's been through a lot. He deserves it. He isn't the one out there tackling or throwing the football. Finally, today we said, 'Enough is enough.' We played as a team."

Roethlisberger finished 22 of 42 with three touchdowns, an interception and a fumbled lateral Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer fell on in the end zone. On that first-and-10 play from the Steelers 8-yard line, linebacker Jarret Johnson pushed tight end David Paulson backward and Roethlisberger's lateral pass intended for receiver Antonio Brown bounced into the end zone where Jammer recovered for San Diego's second touchdown in a 12-second span.

That made it 27-3, Chargers. Game over.

Though Roethlisberger threw a pair of touchdowns to receiver Mike Wallace, the receiver let what would have been a 50-yard, second-quarter catch slip through his fingers. He got booed for it.

Wallace said last week that at times when he doesn't get the ball thrown his way early, he loses focus.

Roethlisberger had his teammate's back.

"Nobody should ever get booed," Roethlisberger said. "We are out there busting our butt. Nobody intentionally does anything to hurt the team.

"I just told him that I was going to come back to him. And keep his head up and he made plays for us late."

Now they play the Dallas Cowboys on the road in Week 15 Sunday still in the mix for the AFC's sixth and final seed.

The urgency better be there with three regular-season games left -- including Cincinnati on Dec. 23 and Cleveland on Dec. 30 at home.

"I want to see how we're going to respond, how we're going to buckle up, take the criticism and accept the responsibility for what we did today," linebacker Larry Foote said. "Knowing these guys, we're going to respond.

"We've done it time and time again.

"I'm quite sure we'll have a better showing next week. We've got to get it done."